Real Heroes
by Izume Hope
Summary: A while after the Cyniclons left Ichigo, Retasu and Pudding go to Africa to work in a refugee camp. That's more dangerous than they could have imagined. But they're not alone. KxI PxL TxP one-shot


They're in hell. They are very much certain about that fact. But they didn't die and go to hell because they lived bad. No.

Hell came to get them.

It all went so fast. One moment they were just walking around in the peaceful camp, sounds of children's laughter in the air. The second moment there was dust. Lots and lots of dust. Followed by bombs and fire. Followed by frightened screams. Followed by more bombs and fire. Followed by screams of pain. People crying. People running. Trying to escape. Away, away, away. People screaming: "This way! To the safe-house! Hurry!". More people running, away from the fire, away from the bombs. To safety.

From out of the safe-house a team of determined men and women stood up. People who voluntarily threw themselves into this hell, only to save the people here. Those little children and those frightened adults: victims who hell has come for before, but who escaped. Those people. They threw themselves into this hell for those people.

Those are real heroes.

Among them there is a girl. Still a very young girl, about sixteen years old. She's the youngest girl in the team. And as she's watching how hell ruthlessly approaches her she's thinking back to the very reason she's here.

It hadn't been here idea. Ichigo had come up with it. Well, Retasu also had her part. You see, Retasu was doing a study about the civil wars in Africa and told them about everything she had found out. When hearing the horrible stories Ichigo got all fired up and in the heat of the moment she said: "I'm going to Africa!". Surprisingly, she was very serious about it. They had very long talks about this. Everyone knew Ichigo had been feeling useless every since the Cyniclon-matter ended. She couldn't do anything for the peace of the earth anymore and that frustrated her. Now she was determined to go to Africa as a normal human and do whatever she could there to help the people. To save them.

Like a real hero would.

Of course, the fact she had recently been dumped by the guy she had thought to be her true love also gave her the courage to go. Everything in Tokyo remembered her of him and there was always a risk to run into him. If she could get away, she would. She most definitely would.

Retasu joined her almost immediately. She had been so touched by her own study she couldn't rest until she had at least saved one poor African child, or so she said. Then Pudding thought: 'Why the hell not?'. It took a year before they could actually go. It was a lot of arranging and their parents weren't that amused by the idea of their daughters living in a land where there was war. But eventually they went. They travelled to Africa and now they're living in a refugee camp to help the victims of the war. They all have their own duty. Retasu has been working in the hospital part, she's just gotten her certificate for being a nurse. Ichigo has been teaching, yes, teaching. She enjoys it very much. And Pudding herself has been taking care of the youngest children in the camp. That's always been her greatest gift, to be able to handle them. The children trust her.

No way she's going to let those children die in this attack.

No one knows why the enemy suddenly attacked. It makes no sense. But, well, the enemy doesn't make sense at all, so a part of them should have seen it coming maybe. But it's no use thinking about it. Right now, they have to get everyone to the safe-house. Immediately.

"Hurry up!" Pudding screams while leading a group of children inside. She has a determined and strong look in her eyes. She's fought monsters, she's not going to let some filthy human get to her. After leading the group in she immediately goes to stand in front of the opening again to protect it. That's her job. To protect the safe-house.

It doesn't take long before some men have found out where they're taking the children and appear in front of her. She fights them off easily, she's a Fong, for Gods sake. Also, it's very convenient that they keep on underestimating her, laughing at her small body and being a girl. They keep thinking this'll be easy. But it never is. She knows exactly where to kick them.

That's when she sees it. A machine gun, pointed at a little girl that hasn't gotten inside yet. The girl has widened eyes and silently tears begin to drip down her face. The man with the machine gun grins.

"Don't!"

Pudding runs towards the crying girl and goes to stand in front of her in a protective manner. The girl looks up to her in surprise. "I won't let you! I won't let you hurt her!".

Suddenly the barrel is pointed at her. Pudding's eyes widen in terror and she begins to shake all over her body. The man who holds it has a scar on his face in the shape of a knife. Very fitting, she has to admit. But he also has a glint in his eye filled with adrenaline and a grin on his face that tells her she's about to die.

And she's scared. From one moment to another inwardly Pudding is a little girl again, afraid to die. She doesn't… want to… die… But the man knows of no mercy. He wants the children. And no matter what he does, she's not going to let him get to them. If she has to die while protecting them, then she will. That's what she decided, right? That's what she said when coming here, when growing to love those children. She'll protect them. She'll protect them with all she's got.

Like a real hero would.

She looks back at the girl behind her and smiles at her. "It'll be fine" she assures her "You'll be able to escape. I promise". She turns back to the man and spreads her arms. "Stay. Away. From. Her." she hisses. The man laughs hysterically. Pudding feels death creeping up on her.

Meanwhile Ichigo is running through the crowd and picking up children, leading them to Pudding, while fighting the enemy off. The only way they're getting to those children is over her dead body. Too bad for her that the enemy doesn't mind that. She looks bewildered as she finds another child. Her hair is jumbled, her face dirty and her clothing covered in dust. "Come on! This way!". She takes the child's hand and begins to run. The child can barely keep up with her, but it's a brave girl. She keeps on running, tears streaming out of her eyes. "Hush" Ichigo tries to comfort her with a smile "It'll be fine. I've got you now".

"Well, well, well. Look what I found". Ichigo freezes and turns around slowly, only to find four men approaching her. She gulps when looking at their weapons and muscles and feels a drop of sweat flowing down her neck. She turns back to the terrified child and pushes her away from herself, to the safe-house. "Go" she whispers. The child looks up to her with big eyes. "Please" Ichigo continues to beg "Please…". If only… if only this girl survives… it'll be worth it…

Behind her one of the men sniggers. Ichigo's eyes glint in panic and she pushes harder. "Go!". The child looks back to her once more and then runs off. Ichigo turns back to her enemies and clenches her shaking hands to fists. She begins to walk backwards, the men keep following her with every step she takes. Eventually she turns around and runs. Away, away from the children. She has to get them away from the children! And it works, the men laugh and follow her. They're fast and catch up with her soon. She's cornered herself. A shiver of fear runs up and down her sweaty spine. Nevertheless, she's a Mew! She won't show any of those weak feelings to her enemy. She'll beat them. Whatever it may take, she'll beat them. She turns around to face them, back straightened and eyes strong.

The men grin. She hears them saying something to each other in a language she doesn't understand. But the tone and the way they look up and down her body tells her enough to know she's in big trouble. These are exactly the kind of men she hoped to never meet. Cruel, merciless monsters, who first take your pride and then leave you to die. She gulps again and stares at the men, who are coming closer with each breath she takes. Her hand slides to the place her pendant is supposed to hang. But it's not.

Damn. Damn, damn, _damn_! Why can't she transform? Why did they decide to keep their identity a secret? How is she supposed to beat this guy without her powers? O, she knew it was a bad idea! She understands, of course, yet still! Some power would be pleasant at the moment!

No, Ichigo, get a grip! She can do this! She's a fighter! Pudding taught her some tricks too, she can do this!

She has no choice. She promised. She promised her parents to come back safely.

So she doesn't show her enormous fear and looks the enemy straight in the eyes, although she knows they'll consider this an insult. She's got to make them realise she's not going to give up easily. The men hiss with this insult and one of them takes out a weapon. Ichigo eye twitches, but she doesn't blink. She knows she's no match for a gun. She's just not. She's still just a human. If he shoots, she's done for. And the man knows it too. He approaches her slowly, enjoying the fear that's hidden in her air, enjoying the feeling of power that's running through his veins. He has an evil glint in his eyes. Ichigo gulps again, but knows she'll fight till her last drop of blood has found its way out of her body.

Like a real hero would.

Retasu, in her turn, is searching with her eyes for wounded people to lead to the safe-house when she suddenly catches sight of a lonesome boy in the middle of the dust. A bone comes out from his right leg and he's screaming in pain. Retasu's eyes widen and she sprints towards the boy, making a sliding to get to him as fast as possible. Her top gets ripped, but she uses that chance to only rip of more to use as bandage. She has a bitter tug around her lips when binding up the boy. He keeps on screaming, in more pain now she's violently trying to fix his leg. On a couple of foot distance a grenade explodes. Retasu throws herself over the child to protect it, her eyes filling themselves with tears of pain when her whole back gets covered in pieces of shrapnel. She moans in pain, but gets up again and continues to bandage take care of the crying and screaming boy in her arms. When she's done as much as she can for him she lifts him up and puts him on her wounded back. She whines softly and her vision is now completely blurred by tears. She blinks and they begin to run over her cheeks, but behind the tears there's a determined fire.

She's going to save this boy.

She rises from her knees and begins to walk away from the barrage. Grenades explode all around them, the pieces of shrapnel now hitting both her and the boy. She tries to protect him as much as possible, but she can't prevent all of the pieces from touching him. She cries.

She has to save him.

She stumbles further, leaving a trail of blood. She's beginning to see black spots and her head feels light. She's getting dizzy, so dizzy.

It hurts. It hurts so bad. She's in more pain than she's ever been in. Even when almost dying during the fight with the Cyniclon's she didn't hurt this much. She feels the liquid running down her spine, the salt of her sweat stinging in her wounds, every move tearing her open a bit more.

Until her legs collapse.

No. No. Please no.

But she gasps heavily and stares at the dust that's making her eyes sting while hearing the screams of dying people and the crying of the boy that's now slipping from her back. She knows she's losing consciousness.

But she can't! She has to… she has to… save him…!

But… she… can't… move… anymore…

"I'm sorry" she whispers with a husky voice "I'm so sorry!".

She's a failure. A complete failure. She's going to die here and then the boy will also die. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…".

And it'll be her fault.

"I'M SORRY!". She sobs heavily, letting everything out. "I'm s-sorry!". The boy says nothing, but crawls towards her. Before she knows he's nuzzled his face in her hair and pressed himself against her chest. He's still crying, but softly now. He knows it's over. Yet, he manages to look up to her and smile through his tears. "I don't mind dying here… if I can die with you…Thank you… for trying… to save me… That's more… than anyone's ever… done for me… before…".

Retasu's eyes widen and another stream of tears escapes from her eyes. She embraces the little boy tightly and cries. "You can't die! You can't die! You deserve to live! You deserve it! You deserve a second chance! YOU DESERVE IT!".

But she hears another grenade approaching them on high speed and she feels she can't move anymore. She smells death, tastes it on her tongue. It makes her want to vomit. She can't stand the fact that the life of this boy, this child, not yet twelve years old, will be taken by this war. Then what use has all of their efforts been? Why did she come here if she can't save either herself or this boy?

"Please… please… Save him… Save him… SAVE HIM!".

All three of them arrive at the exact same moment, although in a complete different manner. The first one of them suddenly appears in front of Retasu and her crying boy. She only sees him from the back, through her tears. But she recognises him immediately. Her eyes widen as he sweeps his weapon through the air and blows the grenade away from them. She can almost hear his teeth grinding as he takes a more stable stance and grabs his fan with two hands. "Fuu rai sen!". His voice is filled with pure, murderous hatred as he screams out his attack. Tanks get blown away, roll over like helpless turtles. The wind races through the camp, sending the attackers back to where they belong in no time. Retasu can feel the cold air around her and her grip on the boy tightens. She closes her eyes for a moment and when the storm is gone she looks up again. When the dust falls down to the ground again she can see him in all of his glory.

At the same time the second one appears right between Ichigo and the man with the gun. He has his arms crossed and his eyes are invisible due to the way he's bowed his head. He sniggers. Ichigo's mouth falls wide open. "Why, what's this?" he whispers. In a way that whisper sounds more dangerous than any shout could have sounded. The hatred, the murderous loathing and the confidence sooths Ichigo. But she can't comprehend it. Her brain is still trying to make the link. Meanwhile the men are examining this sudden intruder's body. He doesn't seem that strong. Just some strange dude wearing a costume, that's what he looks like.

But then he looks up. His golden eyes pierce themselves into the eyes of the man closest to Ichigo and all of his feelings of hate are to be read in them. "Is anyone trying to harm my little kitty? That's really foolish…". There's complete silence for a moment.

Pudding doesn't see him at first. She only sees the bullets that are approaching her on high speed, until they're suddenly send away by something red that's flying through the air. Within a single moment all of her thoughts are suddenly about one person only. A wide smile breaks through her panicked expression and she looks around in pure ecstasy. The man with the machine gun blinks and then begins to also look around, searching for the thing that stopped the bullets. That 'thing', in his turn, now appears behind the man from out of nowhere, his eyes invisible and his hands twitching. "Get. Away. From. Pudding." he hisses.

"Pai…!".

"_Kisshu_?".

"**TAR-TAR!**".

Pai immediately squats down next to Retasu and the hurt child in her arms. As he looks down on the freaked out face of the girl he feels a pang of something he doesn't know in his chest. And another kind of pang, a pang he does understand: anger. He hisses. This is why he hates humans. This is why they're so disgusting.

Because they harm the only people that actually have a little good in them.

Or a lot, in Retasu's case.

"Retasu". "Pai…" Retasu repeats. She sounds as if she's seeing God himself instead of him. Her eyes shimmer with light and in this world made out of dust she is the clear spring that he thirsted for for so long. That's the best way to express his feelings when he looks at her face. As if he's been blinded by a severe light for ages and now can finally enjoy the darkness, as well as she feels like the heavenly light after living a life in darkness. She's everything. She's more.

To her he's a vision of times from long ago. Something she's tried to forget. Someone she's tried to forget. She didn't want to think about him any longer when he had gone. It hurt, thinking about him. Although she knew they'd saved their planet she always felt like she hadn't completely saved him. As if he was still hurting, somewhere in a place she couldn't reach. That's what it felt like.

And now he's back, squatting here next to her, looking at her with those stormy eyes and reminding her of her feelings from long ago. Feelings she had thought to be over. All these years she spent thinking she'd gotten over him. Over that foolish love. She had convinced herself she had fallen in love with the mystery that lingered around him, not with the person her really was. But as he's looking down on her right now he's not a mystery at all. She feels like she can understand every single tiny feeling that blooms in his heart like the blossom of a sakura tree. Everything.

Pai doesn't try to take the child away from her arms. He just places his own arms on her side and before she knows it she's somewhere else. A little disorientated she looks around, finding herself in the hospital part of the safe-house. When she sees all the hurt children and the child in her own arms her heart screams that she has to go help them. She tries to move, to stand up, to go back to work, but one penetrating look from Pai stops her. She coughs and tries to ignore the murderous pain in her back, the black spots that are ruining her sight. She hates those black spots.

She wants to see him. She wants to be able to look at him clearly.

Immediately two people rush towards them. One of them takes away the child from her arms. She wants to protest, but when she recognises the person that's taking him she knows he's in safe hands. The man that takes away her boy is the best and most trusted doctor in the camp and she knows he won't just hand this traumatised boy over to someone less experienced than him. The second person squats down next to her and rips off her blouse, revealing her injured back completely. She can here the nurse gasp in horror. Besides her Pai also moves. She turns her head so she can look at him, but she can still only see vague silhouettes. It looks like he's taking somewhere out of his pocket. Which he, actually, is. He takes off the cap of the tiny scent bottle with his teeth and spits it somewhere onto the ground. Then he carefully drops a little of the fluid content onto her back. The girl shivers as she feels the cold liquid running down her back, immediately soothing her wounds and taking away a lot of the pain. It works a little paralysing.

She knows what it is, of course. Even though it is very much diluted her body still senses the source of the medicine's power. It's the same source as her own powers: Mew Aqua. He's healing her with Mew Aqua. She sighs in relief. She feels as if she can finally breathe again. As if she was forced to stay underwater until now and can now finally taste the pleasant oxygen on her tongue, feel it reaching her lungs.

It feels good.

The nurse stares at the event with widened eyes and a mouth that's fallen open. Never in her life she has seen something like this before. It's like a pure miracle. Like magic. Pai turns to her. "Get the medicine. She's not healed yet". "Y-yes". The girl jumps to her feet and runs off, disappearing in the crowd.

"P-pai…". Pai turns back Retasu and sits down next to her. Then he lifts her off the ground and places her on his lap, supporting her and being careful not to hurt her any further. "Pai…" she says again, shivering from his touch and closing her eyes. It sounds different this time. Relieved. Happy. No more disbelief, no more questions. Just relief and happiness. "Thank you…". "What are you doing here?". His voice is stern and grumpy. He's clearly not amused. "I'm helping the people" she manages to utter. There's no regret in her voice, no doubt of why she's here, no doubt of the fact she wants to be here. She doesn't care whether he likes it or not that she's doing what she's doing. She knows she's doing the right thing. "You've willingly thrown yourself into danger" he states in a blaming voice. "I have" she repeats, still calm, still certain. "You fool". There's a short silence. Retasu has a tiny smile lingering around her lips. "Yes, maybe I'm a fool… But at least I have the feeling I'm doing something for the people in need. At least I'm doing the right thing. I've saved lives, Pai. I've saved lives. Not for myself, but for them. Because they… all deserve… to live…". "Yes. I heard that". Retasu can't keep herself from blushing when remembering her hysterical exclaim from before. "Yes…" she whispers "I meant that…". "I know". She looks up to him in surprise, his eyes are once again burning their way into her very soul. "I know…" he repeats, his expression and voice softened. His real feelings are to be read in them: worry. Even a little fear.

Suddenly Retasu realises she's crying. Crying for all the lives lost today, for all the lives that will be lost. And, selfishly, crying out of pure relief. She's not only survived, she's not only saved that boy, he's also back.

He's back.

She cries softly, with little sound. "Don't go… don't go away again…". Pai smiles a little and leans towards her to kiss her forehead. Retasu sobs. "I won't" Pai answers. Retasu cries on, but she's smiling. "How is he…?" she whispers. Pai keeps staring right in her eyes. "The boy… how is he?". "I don't know" he replies. And he really doesn't know. "But judging from his injuries, he'll make it. Stop worrying about trivial things. He'll make it. Isn't knowing that enough?". "For now". Pai sighs. "For now…". Of course she wants to be sure he's in perfect health condition. That's who she is. "Stay with me…" she suddenly whispers again. He blinks and looks at her dirty face. "Just… stay with me…". "I will". "That's enough…". "For now?". Retasu giggles and opens her eyes to look at him. The look in them is surprisingly strong. "For forever". Pai smiles at her again. She returns his smile.

Kisshu doesn't turn around as a reaction onto his lovely kitten's voice, although a part of him screams that he has to. It's kind of contradictory: one part of his instincts tells him to stay focused, to not turn away from his enemy, to fight, to win. The other part of his instincts tells him to turn around immediately so he can fully take in the girl he loves, wrap his arms around her for real and kiss her so passionately she'll be completely swept of her feet.

Very contradictory.

He knows to which part he has to listen, of course. Yet he can't focus on his fight completely. That's partially because of his fury, of course. He can't stand it. The fact that these man would do such a horrible thing to Ichigo, _Ichigo_. He understands what they want to do, of course. He's seen it so many times before. It's in their eyes. A glint, a glance, something hungry, something impatient. They're like animals.

That's all they are to him. Beasts. Mindless blobs with guns. Beasts.

"Hey, Koneko-chan, you don't particularly like one of these despicable creatures, do you?". He doesn't turn around while speaking to her. Ichigo feels herself freeze under the sound of his casual voice, feels her legs turn into goo. In a way she's scared. If his voice can do this to her, she doesn't think she wants to know what his eyes, that have always been able to do a lot to her, can do to her. She's scared of the feelings running through her veins when seeing his back. She's scared of her own pure happiness when taking him in. She's afraid of him. Really afraid.

But it doesn't feel bad.

"N-no. Not at all" she manages to stammer, blinking a couple of times to reorder her foolish thoughts. "Heh". She can almost hear his smirk widen. "Great". Within a second he's disappeared. Just disappeared. He's gone.

But only to appear again behind the four men, his sword digging its way into the flesh of the one closest to Ichigo. "That means I don't have to go easy on them". Ichigo's eyes widen when seeing him pulling his sword back. The man falls onto his knees and further onto his chest. Dead. Obviously dead. Meanwhile Kisshu looks at the blood on his sword in disgust. Then he sighs, runs a hand through his hair and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I guess there's no helping it". In a moment his eyes turn back to mere hate. He wants those men dead. He's not only here to save his kitty, but also to avenge her.

The other three men lie dead on the ground in no time. Ichigo is watching in horror. She's seen people die before, but not like this. She's never seen someone cold-bloodily murder someone else. It would have been easier to handle if the men had fought back. But he didn't give them the time to take out their weapons. They were dead before they could say 'goodbye, cruel world'.

Kisshu tries to clean up his swords a little by rubbing them over the dead bodies clothing, but it doesn't have much effect. He looks a little annoyed, but makes his weapons disappear instantly and when he turns to Ichigo he's already forgotten all about it. He can now only think of, only mind, only see the face of the girl he's loved for the past few years. The only thing that's been on his mind ever since he first saw her. And he sighs a dreamy sigh while taking her in. Meanwhile Ichigo isn't moving. She just stares at him. Her eyes are back to their normal size, she's closed her mouth. She just stands there. She's comparing.

She's comparing the Kish she sees now with the Kisshu of a moment ago, the cold-blooded murder. They almost seem like a different person.

"Ichigo…". Kisshu rushes towards her, his face screaming concern. "Are you hurt? They didn't touch you, did they?". Ichigo shakes her head, face still emotionless. Still comparing. "Thank goodness…" he whispers softly. If they had gotten to her… he doesn't know how that would have felt. He can't even imagine it.

Only that it would be painful.

"You killed them". Kisshu looks up to Ichigo in surprise. "Yes" he confirms slowly "I did". "What did you feel?". "Sorry?". "What did you feel while killing them?". Kisshu blinks and thinks for a moment. "Nothing" he then says. "Nothing?". "No. I've been trained to put away my feelings when I'm working. So I don't feel when killing". "Working? Killing is your job?". "Not exactly… But my job does involve death sometimes, yes". "And you're the one killing?". "If I don't want to get killed myself, yes". "And on those moment you do not feel?". "I don't". "Right".

She doesn't understand it the slightest bit. But she does understand the way his eyes change now. When they change from the Kish she knows to Kisshu the murderer. That's what changes. They've got no feelings anymore.

Don't judge him, Ichigo. Don't you dare judge him. He's just saved you, for Gods sake. This is just what he's been taught. He's an alien, of course he's different. Don't judge him for that. Don't you dare judge him.

She smiles. "Thank you. For saving me". Kisshu freezes for one tiny little moment, not yet a second. Then he's wrapped her in his arms like he's wanted to do from the moment he saw her. "You stupid kitten…" he whispers in her ear "You can at least _try_ to stay out of trouble…". Ichigo is frozen again, but slowly unwinds again. She returns his embrace. "Sorry… I didn't think you'd be so worried…". "Of course I'm worried, baka neko" he murmurs as a reply "What were you thinking?".

What was she thinking? That she'd help the people. That she'd escape from Masaya. A combination of those two things. That was what she was thinking.

There's nothing stupid about that, right?

Nevertheless, she doesn't answer. She doesn't tell him what she was thinking. Not because she doesn't want to, but because suddenly she's got other things to think about. She gulps as she gazes straight into a barrel, pointed between her eyes. "K-kish…?". "Hmmm?". "H-help me out, please". Kisshu turns his head and for one tiny second she can see the look in his golden eyes and the smirk on his face. And she knows that he'd felt the man approaching ever since he showed up. That he's just playing with the guy.

Like he always played with her.

So it really is just his nature.

Then Kisshu's gone and the man behind her moves his finger to pull the trigger. Ichigo ducks away to escape from the shot, but the man never has the time to actually pull it. Kisshu's already behind him, sniggering softly. "Bye-bye".

A horrifying sound reaches Ichigo's ears and she knows the man is dead or dying. Dying, she realises, because she can still hear his soft, hoarse voice as he speaks: "Damn you…".

Kisshu's face turns serious all of a sudden as he stares in the empty eyes of the dying man. "I've been damned ever since I lay eyes on this girl".

Ichigo's eyes widen. The man sucks in his last breath. Kisshu remains silent.

Then it's over.

"Ichigo?". Kisshu squats down next to her and places on of his hands on a shoulder. "Are you alright?". To his surprise he finds that Ichigo is crying. "So it's my fault?" she sobs "It's my fault you kill them?". "Wha-? No! No, that's not what I meant! It's _their_ fault!". Ichigo looks up to him with a jerk of her head. There is a fierce look in her brown eyes. "Why is it _their_ fault?". "Because _they_ tried to murder _you_. All I did was protecting you. I wasn't _murdering_ them because of you. It was defence!". "That's bullshit!". "It's not, you stupid!". "It is!". "So I should have let them kill you?". "You should have kept them alive!". "Well, sorry! That's not what I've been taught since I was a freaking _baby_!". Ichigo realises she's out of breath. They remain sitting like that until she's calmed down again.

Now she did do it, didn't she? She judged him. Even though she told herself not to. Darn.

She bows her head, ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry…" she murmurs "I didn't mean to… I know you had a different education, I just… I don't know. I'm just a little freaked out at the moment". Kisshu sighs and pulls her close again. "It's alright, I understand. Don't worry about it. Death is something intense". Ichigo only nods and lets him comfort her, even though she knows it's twisted. "Come on". She hears his smile through his voice. "Let's get out of here". Ichigo nods again and before long they're in the safe-house. Ichigo immediately runs off to find the girl she saved and finds her very quickly. The little girl with the black braids' eyes widen and her little mouth falls open. Tears rush into her eyes and then she throws herself onto Ichigo, who holds her and comforts her until she's calmed down again. "Thank you" the girl cries "Thank you". From a short distance Kisshu looks at the scene with a tender little smile around his lips.

That's one of those things that make her so incredibly lovable.

When Ichigo finally lets go of the child, or, well, the child finally lets go of Ichigo, Ichigo immediately walks back to Kisshu, a determined look in her eyes. During those moments with that little girl she's unconsciously made up her mind. Kisshu blinks when she comes closer and closer, her hands on his shoulders and going to stand on her tiptoes. Then she closes her eyes and plants a kiss on his forehead. Kisshu only blinks again, his smile turning into wonder. "Thank you" Ichigo says to him, hands still on his shoulders. Slowly Kisshu gets back to his senses. "Why, why, what would your boyfriend think of that?". Ichigo gets red and for the first time she can smile while answering: "He broke up with me over one and a half year ago". Kisshu blinks once more, but then, to her surprise, his smile turns into a smirk.

Before she knows it the part of the safe-house they were has disappeared and she's in a stocked storeroom, alone with the alien she's still holding onto. This time it's Ichigo who blinks as she looks around. She knows what's happened, of course. They teleported again. But… "Why are we here?". She looks back at the smirking alien, whose arms now exasperatingly slowly encircle her waist. "Because…" he says "I didn't want those poor traumatised children see this". "See wh-".

He interrupts her by pressing his lips onto hers in an turbulent and elated kiss. "You know what?" he says when removing them again. Ichigo opens her mouth and closes it again, not knowing what to say. It's been a while since she was this shocked. "I missed you" he goes on, smiling sweetly.

'Ah…' she thinks tenderly 'How cute…'.

Wait.

What?

But she has no time to think about why she just realised he's cute.

This kiss is more passionate than the last one, burning her from inside out.

Hesitatingly she reacts on him, not quite sure this is what she's supposed to be doing. It's a little awkward from her side. She's completely tensed.

He sniggers. "Relax, kitten… We've kissed before, right?".

No, they haven't! He's kissed her before, but she's never actually kissed _back_! b

Ichigo only blinks and tries not to drown in the taste on her tongue. Quite hard.

Alright, impossible. Just impossible.

She sighs.

From the moment she actually sees him, although she can't see him properly, she's changed into a different her, a her from long ago. She can't concentrate on her surroundings, can't focus on the fact that the man is still standing between them. It all seems irrelevant now.

He's all that matters.

He doesn't even startle from her sudden exclaim, something that surprises her a little. Back when they first met he would have immediately been distracted. Now he's trained enough to not startle again, it seems.

Or he just doesn't find her interesting any longer.

That should make her depressed, right? That thought. The possibility that her love is hopeless and her feelings unreturned.

But who _cares_? He's here! He's here to save her! She can look at him! Who cares whether he loves her back or not? She can still look at him, right?

That's all that matters.

If only she can look at him, everything's alright. Nothing can bring her down.

She doesn't even realise how wide her smile is.

The man with the machine gun sniggers. "What's this? An elf? Or just a kid in a costume?".

Good, he's underestimating him… That'll make matters easier for Tar-Tar. He'll be able to defeat him very soon.

And yes, Taruto only smirks a little, while plucking his weapon out of the air. He plays a bit with it and then looks back to the man. His hands shake a little because of his rage, but no one sees it. Not the man. Not Pudding. No one sees how much he's boiling with rage.

If Pudding has one tiny little scratch on her…

"Bye" Taruto says in a friendly voice "Sucker".

His weapon escapes his hand and collapses with the mans head, knocking him out instantly. He falls down on his knees and then on to his belly, his face straight in the dust. Taruto looks at him emotionlessly.

"Tar-Tar!".

Taruto gets thrown back a little as the small, gracious girl he just saved jumps onto him and squeezes him in a tight hug. "Tar-Tar…" she repeats again, blissfully happy "Tar-Tar…". "Don't call me that, you midget" Taruro only answers indignantly. Pudding lets go of him to look at his face, her eyes speaking of pure ecstasy. As she takes in all of his features she feels like she's never been happier before.

She can look at him. She can look at him.

Taruto can't help but smiling at her. She looks so… happy. So terribly happy. It's an amazing sight.

But then his smile fades and his eyes turn back to anger.

"_What_ do you think you're doing?".

Pudding blinks. So it's true. He doesn't return her feelings. She can't touch him.

Well, that's fine. As long as she can look at him, everything's alright.

She shoots backwards, her hands behind her back. "Sorry".

Now Taruto blinks. After that he takes a step back towards her and reaches out for her with his dirty hands. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. Come… Come back". More blinking from Pudding's side as she does what he asks. They're still on a foot distance, though. She won't touch him if he doesn't like it.

Taruto sighs and shakes his head. Then he places his arms around her chest and hugs her. "I meant" he whispers in your ear "What do you think you're doing _here_, throwing yourself into danger like this". "I'm being a Mew, of course. What else?". "A Mew? You're not being a Mew. You're being Pudding". "Hey! No matter what form I'm in, I'm always Mew Pudding!". Indignantly she looks up to him.

Wait.

Up to him.

"You've grown taller!".

Taruto laughs at her sudden realisation and shakes his head again. "Honestly, people like you…". "What's with people like me?". Pudding crooks her head a little and sends him one of her questioning looks. Taruto pulls her closer again. "They're really something". "Something…?". "Something". "Ah. Right. Something. I see".

He guesses he just has to forgive her for being here, although he doesn't approve it at all. He can't be angry with her now. Not now, after being separated from her for so long. He just wants to enjoy her presence as much as possible.

No, it's not a want. It's a need.

He needs her.

So he nuzzles his face into her short hair and pulls her just an inch closer, as if they're not being surrounded by screams, fights and enemies with guns.

"T-Tar-Tar?".

What is happening? What is this feeling? This is not what she's used to… This is not what she's been feeling for the last few years… What is this? What is this hazy feeling?

When did this hell become a heaven? A strange heaven… A heaven she doesn't understand the slightest bit. With a Tar-Tar that gives her hazy feelings that rush through her veins like adrenaline.

"Hey, Tar-Tar…" she doubtfully says. "Hmmm?". Taruto doesn't look down to her, doesn't even open his eyes. "C-could we get out of here, please?". Now he looks up and blinks. "O. Yeah. Sure". And gone they are.

The safe-house is completely stocked with people. As soon as they arrive they get pushed around, the air is filled with exclaims. "Coming through!". "Out of the way!". "Bring me some antibiotics!". "I've got someone here with a broken leg!". "Give the child some air!".

In a reflex Pudding places her hands over her ears and frowns. Quickly Taruto teleports them away again, to a hallway that is less crowded. Pudding sighs and takes away her hands. The frown disappears. That's when she realises Taruto is staring at her.

"Tar-Tar? You alright?". "Huh? Yeah, of course. I'm fine". He seems as little off. "Are you sure?". Pudding's eyes get a concerned glance in it. She places her hand onto his fore-head to measure his temperature like she's been taught to. "You _are_ a little hot…". "It's nothing, really". He smiles at her. "It's just… I haven't seen you in a very long time". Pudding's time to smile. "That's true. How've you been?". Taruto runs a hand through his hair. "Fine, I guess… Nothing special. Training. More training. Saving the planet. That sort of things". Pudding giggles at his casual description. "Right" she then nods seriously, although there's still a hint of humour in her eyes "Nothing special". "And you?". "O, you know… Going to school… Training… Going to Africa…". "Nothing special?". "Well, I think it's quite special. I'd never been to Africa before". "Ah. So, special?". "Yeah, quite special". "I see".

Bam!

And they're kissing.

His arms are wrapped tightly around her body, her fingers intertwine with his hair. She's never kissed someone so intensely before. The same goes for him. When they let go of each other again they are out of breath. He pushes his fore-head against hers. "Hey, midget… I've been kind of bored the last few months… Do you mind if I hang around a little longer…?". "No, that's alright… If you like". "I like".

And they're kissing again.

Real heroes always get their true love.

12


End file.
